Poole: Oakland Raiders' Reggie McKenzie remains in housecleaning mode

When Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie walked into the organization 14 months ago, he observed quite the royal mess and immediately picked up a broom.

After using it for a year to push the clutter about the room, while clearing out some of the musty old air, McKenzie on Tuesday kicked open the door and smartly, emphatically used it to sweep out the old.

While so many other teams spent the first day of the NFL's free-agent season stuffing money into the holes in their rosters, McKenzie and the Raiders made a powerful move to separate their unformed present from their underachieving past.

By releasing veteran safety Michael Huff and wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the Raiders shed two of the remaining four projected foundation players left over from the failed roster reconstruction of late former owner Al Davis.

As collegiate talents drafted with the seventh overall pick, Huff (2006) and Heyward-Bey (2009) were expected to provide a significant portion of the Raiders' future nucleus. Huff become a good player but never met anticipated standards. Heyward-Bey is an unpolished pass catcher who improved but showed no sign of becoming the star implied by his draft status.

Both failed, as did the team around them, justifying McKenzie's decision to make a relatively bold move that, as suggested in recent conversations with the G.M., won't be the last this offseason.

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"It's a little more of a makeover than we thought," McKenzie recently told me, "but that's fine. I'm seeing progress now. We're getting the salary cap right, because we don't want that to stunt the growth of what we're trying to do. That's necessary to maintain continuity with our players."

NFL teams seek to build a foundation through the draft, and the Raiders' decline is easily traced upon examining the final drafts under Davis. Of the 21 players selected in the first or second round since the trading of coach Jon Gruden in 2002, only four remain.

There is running back Darren McFadden, taken fourth in 2008, and he also will be traded if the right deal materializes.

There is linebacker Rolando McClain, taken eighth in 2010, who will be released as soon as it is financially convenient.

One of the other two remaining players, defensive lineman Lamarr Houston, is almost certain to be among the next generation of Raiders. And the other, offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski, is likely to join him.

That is pretty much the extent of what is left from the Al Davis era. The projected franchise quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, taken first overall in 2007, is out of the NFL. The four cornerbacks taken in the two top rounds -- Phillip Buchanon (2002), Nnamdi Asomugha (2003), Fabian Washington and Stanford Routt (2005) -- are long gone.

The man drafted second overall in 2004 to be the franchise left tackle, Robert Gallery, also is out of the NFL. As is center Jake Grove.

As we look back on the 2011 season, given the roster on hand, it is all the more remarkable that coach Hue Jackson managed to massage the Raiders to within one win -- one play, really -- of making the playoffs.

The hiring of Dennis Allen to replace Jackson, however, signaled an entirely new direction.

Jackson, hoping to impress enough in a period of turmoil to keep the job for another season, took risks and tried quick fixes -- notably the trade for quarterback Carson Palmer. He approached the job knowing his future with the organization was in doubt.

McKenzie, by contrast, is taking the more measured approach afforded someone with the luxury of job security. His plan, from the start, sacrificed that potential gratification gained from a playoff appearance with the makeshift roster he inherited. He sought instead to address the long view.

He spent the first year evaluating and analyzing the entire football operation, while housekeeping. Some things were positive, some negative, including the 4-12 record.

But McKenzie said he likes the feel of his personnel department, which was revamped on the fly last season. He is making the decisions here, though the firing of former offensive coordinator Greg Knapp met with no resistance.

McKenzie's problem was less with Knapp's preference for the zone-blocking system than with the coordinator's inability to successfully adjust.

What we're learning about McKenzie is that he walks softly and speaks carefully and moves deliberately -- but decisively. His mini-purge on Tuesday is another example.

The signs are clear, the message loud. McKenzie used his broom, and he is not finished. The remaking of the Raiders, which became very necessary with the coaching change before last season, is officially under way.